The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
One of my favorite Neotropical migrants. (My wife says they’re all my favorites, depending on which one I just saw.) I’ve been trying all spring to get a decent shot of one. I know it’s just a BOAS, but what a bird!
Specific Feedback
Nothing specific.
Technical Details
Canon RF 100-500mm
I shot this in relatively low light. I know rule of thumb when hand holding is set your shutter speed to at least the longest focal length of your lens, which in this case would be 1/500 sec. But I was underexposed there, so I dropped it to 1/400. I think I could go lower, if necessary on a stationary subject. IS in the camera body and IS in the lens are phenomenal.
Processed in ACR and PSE for exposure and cropping. Topaz DeNoise.
Wow, Terry, this is some blue bird! Never have seen one like this in our neck of the woods. Lucky you. I do like they way you have captured him on the perch with the tree completing the framing on the right. Nicely seen.
I don’t blame you for being excited to see and capture this. These are my nemesis. No sooner do I spot one in the yard and blink - he’s gone! Same with a Brown thrasher that appeared briefly yesterday - put hand on camera and - gone! So be happy with your bird on a stick! The blues vary depending on which screen and might be a trifle hot. Of course, these are very blue indeed.
I’m curious why you didn’t go all the way to 500mm – I always want to get the most pixels on the subject I can unless its an environmental shot.
I’ll bet you can go to a lower SS, but I’d hate to test it on a rare subject. My recent DF in flight was at 1/500 sec and the BB was at 1/100 sec, both 1000mm, handheld – but both sitting down, which helps a little. But it’s easier to deal with noise than motion blur. And it looks from the ISO that you had very low light, which is frustrating.
Hey @linda_mellor, thanks much. Yes, they are VERY blue. A real show-stopper. Don’t you live in the Texas Hill Country? You ought to have these birds all over down there. If you maintain a seed feeder, put out some white proso millet. That’s their favorite seed. I started seeing a lot more of them when I started feeding millet.
Thanks @Kris_Smith. You know, when they first arrive here they can be darn near impossible to photograph. But it seems they aren’t quite so spooky after they’ve been here a few weeks. I know what you mean about the blues in these birds, but I think this is a pretty good representation of what I saw. Their color is greatly dependent on how much light is hitting them. Just for kicks, I’ll post a second photo I took prior to this one where he’s in a bit better light. He’s sitting in a feeder, but that’s okay for comparison purposes.
Glad you enjoyed him @Dennis_Plank. They are certainly beautiful birds, slightly smaller than a goldfinch.
Thanks @Diane_Miller. I didn’t go to 500mm because that would have stopped down my aperture to 7.1 which I didn’t want in that low light. At 400mm, I could at least open up to 6.3.
Yes, I was concerned with motion blur even at 1/400 sec. But he was sitting very still, which is unusual for this bird. I’m still experimenting with this combo, trying to push it a little bit. I mean, the APS-C sensor is NEVER going to perform really well in the low light I had here, but in the right situations, I think it can be pushed.
Hey Terry. I think that rule should be filed with the Dodo. With in-camera and in-lens stabilization, it’s utter nonsense. Even in the bad old days, I got some really good images with my 500 mm as low as 1/50 sec.
Also, as far as the APS-C sensor goes, before I retired it, I was doing iso 2500 on the 7D Mark II without any great difficulty and that’s an antique by today’s standards.
Really nice image Terry! Love the blue you have rendered well IMO. I think this is my wife’s favorite bird - I’ll have to show her this shot. Nice BG too. I agree on the traditional rule about shutter speed and hand holding being out of date. Nice details here - hope you are enjoying your R7. Well done image.
Good to hear @Dennis_Plank. I’m going to keep experimenting and breaking the “rules”.
Thanks @Merv. I got about 20 snaps before this bird exited the scene, and the head cock was my favorite, too.
Thanks @Allen_Sparks. Hope the wife enjoys this shot. Love the R7 and the RF 100-500mm is a beast of a lens. Seems to be sharp throughout the entire range, and fast. I’ll bet it would be a real killer on a full frame body.
Terry, I absolutely concur about the hand-holding rule. Of course it depends on your strength and stability. If I can find a nice, comfortable rock to sit on, it gives me more stability. Dig elbows into ribs and press the camera tight against your forehead, set electronic shutter and go for it. As to the physical strength required, I’m 5 ft tall, weigh 120 lbs (of which 20 is blubber) and my age is an unlisted number. If I can do it, I’ll bet you can!
And I’ll bet your sensor is excellent at high ISOs, with today’s NR software. If the MFT world can get the great results we’ve been seeing, so can the APS-C world. The downside of full frame is that I need the 2X for almost everything (even with routinely cropping to about 50%), and that adds weight and gives less easily managed balance.
Thanks for the comments @Diane_Miller. We have an overcast, gloomy day here, a day on which I wouldn’t normally venture forth to photograph unless I saw some rare critters. It was and is a good opportunity to put all this in action. Forget the other settings, but I started my ss at 1/320 sec. and went down as far as 1/160 sec. and I got some excellent shots. Were they all perfect? No, I had a handful that were blurred due to either the subject moving or poor technique. But the vast majority were more than acceptable images.
When I set out to buy a new rig, I labored between APS-C and full frame. My ultimate decision was based on exactly what you said; if I must add a 2x converter, and/or crop mightily to get the images I want, why not APS-C? Thus the R7.
I think you made a very good decision. We all look forward to your portraits! Although we all want cloudy bright, gloomy light is often better than full sun.
And yeah, What a Bird!